dcaufandomcom-20200222-history
Big Time (episode)
:You may also be looking for the supervillain Big Time. "Big Time" is the forth episode of the third season of . It depicts the first appearance of the villain Big Time. An old friend of Terry's, Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow, is released from prison and meets up with him. Remembering that both he and Charlie were arrested for the same crime and that his own sentence was short due only to his age, Terry feels he owes his friend. Terry manages to get Charlie a job at Wayne-Powers. Meanwhile, a rival company, Agri-Chem, is sending out hired thugs to capture a sample of the growth hormone, Cerestone. Things get even worse when Charlie reveals his true nature and is bathed in the chemical himself. Plot Out on the streets of Gotham City, a Wayne-Powers truck carrying several canisters of Cerestone, is tailgated by a much larger truck. The driver of the larger truck jokingly tells them to "stick 'em" up to which the drivers simply get annoyed; however, the larger truck opens revealing a grappling gun that pulls them in. The guards are taken in and a single thug, Karros, breaks his way into the truck with a cutting laser. The guards are thrown from the truck but Batman arrives and engages the thugs. During the fight, a canister of Cerestone is popped open forcing the thugs and Batman to retreat. Later, Terry asks Bruce about Cerestone and learns that it's a growth hormone used to accelerate plant growth and that a rival company, Agri-Chem, is seeking to steal the formula. He identifies the ringleader of the thugs as Karros who is a leader of mercenaries for companies. Terry's conversation is cut short when he hears Dana angrily rejecting the advances of a blonde man that doesn't seem to care that she's not interested. Terry comes to the rescue but is surprised to see that the man is Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow, an old friend of his. Terry introduces Charlie to Maxine and Dana, but Dana remembers him and is wary. Later, Terry and Charlie talk about the way things have turned out. Charlie mentions to Terry that he has an opportunity for a big "job" and offers Terry to come in on it. Terry promptly refuses; however, Charlie isn't about to let Terry simply walk out and tries to talk him into it. Terry still refuses and tries to tell Charlie to give up on crime. It seems that he's more successful than Charlie but Charlie says that in order to go straight, he needs a break. Terry goes to Bruce who immediately refuses. However, Terry manages to talk him into it. Terry calls up Charlie and tells him the good news. Charlie readily accepts the job and is immediately congratulated by Richard Armacost, an executive at Agri-Chem. Karros, however, isn't too sure that Charlie is ready for the big time. Charlie starts his first day of work and immediately gets into trouble. A guard, Captain Ruebens, catches him trying to move a computer terminal. Charlie claims that he just dropped a disk behind the mainframe and gets the guard to help him move the computer. All of this proves to be a ruse so that he can get a shot of the captain's handprint. Back that the Batcave, Terry catches Bruce looking up the files on Charlie. Terry is appalled by Bruce's distrust but Bruce explains that Charlie spent time with Armacost. Terry suddenly realizes that Charlie used him. The next day, Karros explains that they made a glove from the guard's palm print, which should enable them to bypass security. Karros gets angry and calls Charlie "Thumbelina" when he doesn't immediately respond. Charlie is upset and appeals to Armacost to discipline Karros but Armacost brushes it aside. Outraged, Charlie warns Armacost that he's doesn't feel he's being properly repaid for watching his back in jail. Armacost continues to hide behind his bureaucracy insisting that Charlie listens to Karros. Charlie leaves the Agri-Chem building and finds Terry waiting for him. Terry informs him he knows what Charlie's up to and he won't allow it, "You're still a kid, Charlie, lookin' for shortcuts. I can't let you do it." Charlie refuses to listen claiming that, with the people he's working for, he can't stop even if he wanted to. He storms off unaware that Terry has left a bat-tracer on his suitcase. That night, Charlie waits in a Wayne-Powers warehouse and assaults a guard with a taser. He then uses the special glove to open the warehouse door letting Karros and other thugs in. Karros is still unimpressed. The gang goes for the canisters of Cerestone but Batman reveals himself and offers them to just give it up. They refuse and start shooting at him. Karros shouts to Charlie to get the canisters and hurls a grenade at Batman. Unfortunately, the grenade causes a canister to fall over and its lid to loosen. Charlie tries to save the canister but it bursts open and he's bathed in the Cerestone. Meanwhile, the fight continues and Karros manages to bury Batman in planting soil. Sirens indicate the police are coming and the gang runs leaving Charlie behind. Charlie manages to grab onto the getaway truck and leaves with them. Later, Karros blames Charlie for the failed heist and demands that Charlie pays him for the loss. Charlie's unconcerned at first claiming that Armacost won't allow anything to happen to him but Karros asserts that he doesn't care what Armacost thinks. After Karros leaves, Charlie discovers that something is wrong: his hand swells to an unnatural size then goes back to normal. The next day, Terry, Dana, and Max leave school and find that Charlie is waiting for Terry. Charlie explains his plight to Terry and insists that he steals the money from Bruce. Terry refuses telling Charlie to turn himself in. Charlie refuses to go back to jail but his rant is cut short when he starts to feel immense pain. He runs off. That night, Terry explains to Max that when Terry was fourteen and Charlie eighteen, Terry's parents were breaking up and the two of them were out committing petty crimes out of anger. Charlie then got the idea to do a bigger heist and Terry went along with it. This crime got both of them arrested, but since Terry was underage, he was sentenced to Juvenile Hall while Charlie was sent to jail. Max tries to tell Terry that he doesn't owe Charlie anything but Terry insists that Charlie is his friend and he has to do something to protect him. Meanwhile, Charlie suffers the full effects of the Cerestone and is turned into an ugly hulk. Ignorant of Charlie's condition, Karros heads off to Agri-Chem and insists that Armacost pays him for the heist even if failed. Armacost refuses but Karros points out that it was Armacost's fault for letting Charlie in on the deal. Suddenly, they hear a tape rewinding and discover that Batman has recorded their conversation. Armacost insists that it's not enough evidence but Batman claims that it'll hold them for a while. Just then, Big Time crashes into the room outraged with Armacost. Both Karros and Batman try to stop him but Big Time's strength allows him to disable them both. Big Time continues to advance on Armacost insisting that his transformation is his fault. Armacost unsuccessfully tries to talk his way out of trouble and is grabbed by Big Time. Big Time carries him out to the side of the building and prepares to drop him but Batman ties him up with his grappling rope. However, before Batman can further disable Big Time, Karros attacks him. After a brief fight, Karros accidentally cuts out the balcony from underneath himself and falls from the building. Big Time manages to break his restraints and attacks Batman. Batman pleads with him to stop but Big Time continues the fight anyway, deciding that he'll finally gain respect. Batman has no choice but to fight back and sadly punches Big Time out. In the morning, a newscast reports that Big Time has been taken to jail and Karros is in the hospital. Dana tries to comfort Terry telling him that it was for the best that Terry remained away from Charlie. Though Terry claims to agree, he's deeply hurt. Continuity * This episode finally reveals why Terry spent three months in Juvie. His criminal record had been alluded to in "A Touch of Curaré," "Revenant," "Rats" and "Eyewitness." Background Information DVD Release * * Batman Beyond - The Complete Series (DVD) Production Notes * This episode was produced before "Ace in the Hole," but it aired much later. This is why Terry has no knowledge of Cerestone and acts like this is his first encounter, while in "Ace in the Hole", he knew what it was. Production Inconsistencies * The claws that Karros equips reappear on his abdomen in the next shot and all subsequent shots where he's using them. * Charlie's eye color changes from blue to black between shots when he first meets with Terry, and then again at this apartment. * The glove that Karros gives Charlie in Richard Armacost's office covers Charlie's wrist, but when he puts it on at the Bio-Chem research lab it almost goes up to his elbow. * In the closed captioning Cerestone is spelled "Sarastone," but the canisters have the former spelling printed on them. Trivia * Charlie was wearing a glove on his right arm when he was exposed to the Cerestone, which explains why that arm did not swell up when he mutated into Big Time like his left one did. Cast Quotes Category:Batman Beyond episodes